SASKATOON – In a tangle of two team ranked in the top ten in the nation, the University of Calgary Dinos suffered their first regulation loss of the season 3-2 to the Saskatchewan Huskies at Merlis Belsher Place on Friday night.
Dinos forward and Saskatoon native
Kaden Elder, who was playing in his first U SPORTS game in his hometown, recorded his sixth goal of the season. Elder is off to a tremendous start to his Calgary career, as the freshman forward is now in a tie for first in conference scoring.
Ryan Gagnon scored the other goal on the night, while
Matt Alfaro continues to build on his impressive start to the Canada West campaign with a two-assist night,
Graham Black and
Coda Gordon also registered helpers for the visitors.
Saskatchewan received goals from a trio of forwards with Carter Folk, Layne Young and Collin Shirley each finding back of the net. Folk's fifth tally of the season ties fellow forward Carson Stadnyk for the team-lead. Meanwhile, Young now has four goals in seven games this season, after scoring one in his rookie campaign last year. Levi Cable and Gordie Ballhorn registered assists, while captain Tanner Lishchynsky's first-period helper is the first point of the season for the fourth-year blueliner.
Calgary netminder Matthew Greenfield kicked aside 24 shots on the night in the losing effort. Goaltender Taran Kozun registered 19 saves in the win for Saskatchewan.
The Huskies came ready to play from opening puck drop, and solved Greenfield early. Saskatchewan scored twice in 12 seconds midway through the first, with two of the team's early-season success stories in Carter Folk and Layne Young finding twine to give the home side a 2-0 lead.
However, Calgary struck back with under five minutes remaining in the opening period, as Gagnon's wrister from the point found its way past a screened Kozun to get the visitors on the board with the powerplay marker, trimming the Saskatchewan lead down to 2-1.
After a Dinos penalty carried over into the second period, the Huskies wasted little time in the middle frame to take advantage. Collin Shirley scored his second goal of the season on the powerplay, re-establishing Saskatchewan's two-goal lead just 14 seconds into the period.
But Calgary refused to go away as they cut the lead back to one for the second time, with Elder, as the rookie forward cut his club's deficit down to one.
Calgary was able to muster seven shots on Kozun in the final twenty minutes of play, but the reigning U SPORTS Goalie of the Year was equal to the task, as the Nipawin, Sask. native helped the Huskies escape with the 3-2 victory.
The Huskies and Dinos will do it all again tomorrow night in the second half of the back-to-back, with puck drop at 7:00 p.m. at Merlis Belsher Place.
All of the action can be watched live on Canada West TV presented by Co-op.
